Moment of Steel
by Dodongo Dislike
Summary: A lesson in love.
1. Chapter 1

**Title:** Moment of Steel**  
Author:** Dodongo Dislike  
**Summary:** A lesson in love.**  
****Based on:** OOT, mostly. Pieces from other games were used as needed.  
**Goes best with:** A little John Hiatt.

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_**Chapter One **_

Consciousness returned slowly and irrevocably, first with the awareness of the pain in her skull, then the cold hard stone behind her, and finally with the darkness that surrounded her.

Princess Zelda found herself alive, in pain, and extremely annoyed. _Oh, for Din's sake. Not again._

She took a few steadying breaths, swallowed her aggravation, and began to assess her situation with fierce, cold logic. _This is clearly less than optimal._ First, she needed to determine her physical status. It seemed she could move her legs fine. But her arms had been bound behind her back, and when she tried to move them—she bit back a cry of pain as she shifted her hands and realized something had been driven through them.

So. Whoever had done this didn't want her completely immobilized, just unable to use her arms. But since when had the Princess of Destiny needed physical weapons to defend herself? Closing her eyes, she willed her nerves to stillness and summoned Din's Fire.

And nearly vomited with agony when blinding pain exploded behind her eyeballs.

Her head fell against the floor with a crack, and she gasped, swallowing back bile.

_What in the name of the Three?_

Still gasping for breath, she tried to collect her thoughts. It appeared this enemy was more of a danger than an annoyance. The mysterious object that nailed her palms together must be a nail—or needle, or shard—of iron. Iron was poison to magic. It was a well-kept secret, but obviously, Zelda reflected as she let the pain fade away, not secret enough.

Very well then. Whoever had gotten her not only had a cruel streak, but also knew more about magic than she cared to think about.

She had, for now, been taken out of the game. It seemed she was doomed to stay here until one of three things happened: she was killed, she figured out a means of escape, or the Hero of Time did something incredibly noble and overly dramatic.

Come to think of it, where in Din's fiery hell was the Hero of Time, anyway? Shouldn't he have been in the castle for this little piece of excitement? No. She remembered now. Link was off investigating rumors of a Tektite infestation along the Calatian border, west of Lake Hylia.

She also remembered bits of what must have been the previous evening. Prince Aeron of Holodrum, her late husband's brother, had been in residence for what was supposed to have been a visit to his brother's grave and his nephew, Prince Daphnes Nohansen.

At the thought of her son, Zelda could feel panic begin to well up within her. _No_, she thought, whether to ward off the cold terror that began to grip her heart or to deny the myriad of horrible things that could have happened to him while she lay here, bound and useless. _No_.

Survival instinct honed over seven years of hiding from Ganondorf and perfected throughout her mostly solitary adulthood asserted itself ruthlessly, bringing with it the welcome relief of rationality. Impa had been carrying the boy, she remembered, as they walked back to Zelda's chambers after a late dinner. When something had grabbed Zelda out of a shadowy corner, Impa had flinched back, clutched the boy to her chest, and had run without waiting to hear Zelda's shout. _"Take him!"_

There the memories ended, which was just as well, because she could hear movement—the tromp of footsteps and clanking of metal as several armed people came down the corridor towards her cell.

Good. It was time to find out what this ridiculous situation was all about.

It hurt to stand, from the throbbing in her head to the aching in her shoulders to the searing fire in her palms, but she did. The bastards would not see her on her knees. Impa had taught her long ago that a Princess of Hyrule bows to no one. Zelda had never forgotten.

She was on her feet and ready for them by the time the door opened. Yes, this was Hyrule Castle, where the dungeon bars groaned from disuse.

It had been so dark in the cell that the torches they brought made her eyes water, and she had to look away until the momentary blindness passed. When she was able to see again, she raised her head deliberately, taking them in.

As she had feared, the man at the forefront was her dead husband's brother. _Treacherous bastard_, she thought as she struggled to control her anger. Aeron was flanked by three guards, all wearing Holodrum's colors.

_And where are my loyal guardians?_ Zelda wondered bitterly. _Whose magic has so ensorcelled them that they allow this?_

A flutter of motion behind the prince attracted her attention to a shadowy form, and Zelda realized at once who her true enemy was. _And who are you, who knows enough about magic to bind mine with iron?_ She was fairly certain she didn't want to know.

Aeron's voice dragged her attention back to him. "Where is he?"

Zelda could think of only two "he"s the prince would be referring to, but she'd be damned if she'd make this easy for him. "Where's who?"

He sneered. "Don't play coy with me, Zelda, you know who. Where is Nohansen? Where is my brother's son?"

"_My_ son."

"Where did that Sheikah bitch take him?"

Zelda smiled as serenely as she could, hoping to hide the piercing relief that made her knees go weak. Noha was with Impa. She said a silent prayer of thanks to all three goddesses and said, "Where you'll never find him."

His eyes narrowed. "Oh, I'll find him."

It seemed her captor was far from a master wordsmith. Zelda began to anticipate many more tedious exchanges like this until she was able to escape. "What is it you want, Aeron? You'll rule all of Holodrum one day. You don't need Hyrule."

"I don't want Hyrule. I want to restore the rightful king to the throne and tell him the truth about his whore of a mother!"

Zelda smiled again, this one a mocking one. "He's a little young for that lesson now, but I'm sure he'll figure it out on his own one day."

"And when will he learn that you murdered his father?"

She was so surprised she couldn't prevent herself from gasping, "What?"

Aeron took a menacing step towards her. But not, she noted, too far from his guards. _Is he so afraid of a woman in chains?_ "Do you think I'm a fool?" the prince hissed. "My brother was too good a horseman to just fall like that. I don't know what manner of witchcraft you used, but you'll pay for it."

"You are a fool," Zelda countered. "Darius's accident was nothing more than that. He was a good man—why would I want him dead?"

"So you could rut with that loyal dog of yours."

He was mad. No one born royal could possibly see any logic in murdering a spouse simply to have an affair. There were too many potential political ramifications. Besides, no one born royal expected to marry for love anyway. Zelda had considered herself extraordinarily lucky that her husband had been as kind and wise a man as he was. "And now you think I'm the fool. Both Darius and I were adult enough to understand the value of a discrete consort. I wouldn't have needed him dead to indulge myself."

And besides, Link had been an ocean away at the time.

She had little time to marvel at his stupidity, for he was now ranting, "You can tell me where my nephew is and step aside for him, or not tell me and let me kill you when I find him. Either way, you'll face justice, you witch."

"Then kill me, if that's your idea of justice." Zelda held his eyes, letting the full force of her belief shine in her own. "But if you do, you should run as fast and as far as you can, now and for the rest of your life. You called the Hero of Time a dog, and a hound he is. Because if I die, he will never stop hunting you."

Aeron swept out with a snarl, his entourage huddled around him. All but one. The shadow remained, and with the others out of the way, it was even easier for her to smell the stench of black magic that surrounded him.

Zelda had dealt with far too much black magic in her life to show any fear of it now. "And what is _your_ purpose?"

The wizard inclined his head in mocking honor, but made no move to approach or to leave. "I am pleased to speak with you alone, Your Grace."

"Your pleasure is noted. I do wonder, however, what manner of strange circumstance led one such as yourself into the service of a fool like Aeron."

"Your grace is mistaken. I serve no one"

Clearly, Aeron served him. The young prince Zelda had met at her wedding had been nothing like the raving madman who had just been in her cell. He had loved Darius, true, but brotherly affection was insufficient to explain the power of his rage. A blood spell was at work here. It was the only explanation for Aeron's madness and her own imprisonment in a castle that was filled with people who were supposed to be—who _were_—loyal to her.

"And so I ask again: what is your purpose?" But of course she knew. The Triforce. Always the Triforce. "You know Impa will never let you near my son. And as long as he is alive, Hyrule will never be yours."

"I care nothing about the boy or Hyrule. You know that, Your Grace." He paused. "I am, however, curious as to the whereabouts of—what did Aeron call him? Your loyal dog."

"I don't know."

The wizard sighed, and it was a dry, dead sound. "It doesn't matter. He'll come for you soon."

Zelda said nothing. There was nothing to say. The wizard was right, and she knew it. While logic would argue that the Hero of Time lead the charge to protect and restore the Heir to the throne, Link had never been much for logic. Instead, he'd be coming to rescue the Heir's useless old mother. Though he'd grown wiser and more careful with age, Link still let his heart rule his head.

Her bitter musings did not prevent Zelda from a fleeting second of amusement imagining Link's reaction to the news. He must have been apoplectic. She caught herself before she could laugh out loud.

Shadows fluttered on the edge of her vision, and she looked back at the wizard. "Once he's here, I'll have both of your powers to hand. Unless...."

"Unless what?"

"Unless you decide to yield yours to me first."

At that, she did laugh. "If you think that's even possible, you're a bigger fool than Aeron. You may have me tied up and poisoned with iron, but you will never see me yield." _A Princess bows to no one._

His grin was a white slash through the darkness. "I think we both know that everyone had their breaking point, Your Grace. I'll be interested to learn yours."

There was no torture, no amount of pain or agony that could break her. There was only one thing, and Impa had seen to it._ Noha is safe._ "I'll be interested to watch you try."

The wizard bowed again, and vanished into the darkness.

It wasn't until long after he had left that Zelda let herself sag against the wall, fear warring with anger in her heart. She pressed her forehead against the cold stones, seeking relief from the burning pain in her hands. _Oh Link_, she thought. _We're getting too old for this_.


	2. Chapter 2

**Title:** Moment of Steel  
**Summary:** A lesson in love.  
**Based on:** OOT, mostly. Pieces from other games were used as needed.**  
**

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_**Chapter Two**_

Malon sighed into the cold air, watching as her breath froze into a dazzling array of crystals. The beauty of it brought a quick smile to her lips, before she sighed again and reached down to pat the horse beneath her.

"Winter's coming, girl," she murmured.

The mare flicked an ear back towards her, but didn't stop grazing. _As if we don't feed you enough at the ranch_, Malon thought fondly.

She returned her gaze to the horizon, squinting into the rising sun. Link would be coming from the east, if the men had been right about his whereabouts. So here she was, on a convenient rise between LonLon Ranch and Castle Town, hoping to intercept him with her news.

The stillness of the morning was at direct odds with the tumult of the past two days, making the recent events even harder to believe. When the first of the palace guards had arrived at the ranch with news of the visiting prince's treachery, she had been shocked. Hyrule had been peaceful and prosperous for so many years now, that she, like every other citizen, had assumed that they were free finally from the upheaval that had defined her youth.

But there they were, standing at the gates, telling their tale of sorcery and warning her to be careful. The prince had some sort of magic at his disposal that had infected some of castle folks. Oddly, only some had been affected. Some, like the three men before her, had not.

"We know you're loyal," the older one had said, a strong man with a handsome smile and a dusting of gray at his temples. "We thought we'd let you know what was going on and beg you for fresh horses"

Their plan had been to escape to the border, spread the word of their actions, and form some sort of plan to re-take their home.

They were very surprised when Malon had told them they were being ridiculous. Hiding out in the wilderness, far from the center of the kingdom? How on earth were any of the others to learn their location and get there easily? Clearly, the ranch was the best site for such activities. It was close enough to castle to keep an eye on events there and full of places for people to hide, if need be.

The three men had briefly withdrawn to debate among themselves before deciding to take her up on the offer.

And thus Malon found herself at the center of a small but growing rebellion.

She had gone to the castle yesterday for her usual milk delivery. To not go would have aroused suspicion, and she wanted to see things for herself. The stillness and relative normalcy of the town was stunning. Some of the people she saw, old friends, returned her wave with wary smiles, nodding cautiously.

It had been maddening. It was as if everyone was simply unable to act, or waiting for someone else to act first.

Well, that someone was certain to be on his way soon. Malon had no idea if Link had any idea what was going on, but even if he did, he couldn't possibly have all of the details. Her only challenge would be keeping him from racing off before she could tell him everything.

She'd had a stud like him once. Extraordinarily stubborn and willful, Phaeton had simply refused to come to hand. She'd ultimately had to geld him to make him into a useful horse, which had been a shame. He'd been a spectacular piece of horseflesh. But Malon liked her breeding stock the way she liked her men: even-tempered and willing to compromise.

Siona sensed the oncoming horse and rider before Malon did, raising her head to alert the rancher to their arrival. Malon stood up in the stirrups, shielding her eyes from the sun, and quickly identified the big bay gelding cantering towards them.

_Here we go_, she thought. She lightly squeezed Siona's barrel with her calves, and the mare shot forward into a gallop.

As soon as Siona halted, Malon jumped off of her, bringing the reins over her head. "Get off," she said, before Link could so much as open his mouth.

He dismounted next to her and again before he could say anything, Malon spoke. "The Holodrum prince has taken over the castle with some sort of dark magic. It happened two days ago. Impa made it out with the little prince." At the mention of the little boy who had clutched her hand and laughed as she led him on his first pony ride, her voice broke. "No one knows where they are"

At her first words, Link's face had gone deathly pale. "And Zelda?"

"Word in the town is that Aeron's spread rumors that she had Darius killed and he wants her brought to justice."

"Justice," Link replied with a dangerous softness. His dark blue eyes had taken on the fierce, terrifying glow that Malon had never been able to reconcile with her big-hearted friend. "And where are Zelda's loyal subjects?"

"Frightened, and I think some are under a spell. Some of those who aren't are at the ranch already, and more are coming. They want to fight back."

His smile was a thin, bitter mockery. "About time they got into the spirit of things."

"Link, please. We're trying."

The smile softened marginally. "Sorry, Mal." He turned back to his horse. "Time for me to play my part."

"No," she stopped him, offering up the reins of her mare. "Take Siona, she's fresh, and she's sensible."

"How does she handle monsters?"

"I saw her chase a wolfos out of her paddock a few weeks ago."

"She did?" He gave the mare's neck an appreciative slap. "Good girl."

"There's food and some medical supplies in the saddle bags, plus a change of clothes," Malon continued as Link swung up into the saddle.

Link grinned down at her, the thought of taking action easing his nerves. "Clothes for me?"

"Not unless you want a fresh skirt, Fairy Boy."

He chuckled, gathering up his reins. Malon could see Siona tense in readiness as he took up the contact, but she didn't let go of the bridle just yet. "You're welcome to come back to the ranch."

Link shook his head. "It'll be one of the first places they'll look. Don't worry, pony girl. Keep everyone there, and we'll send word when we can."

"Link…." she sighed. She hated this. "Just be careful."

His dark blue eyes caught hers, and she could see the laughter in them despite his terrible anger. "Don't worry, Malon. I'm too old to do anything really crazy."

Then he was winking at her, and she was released the bridle, and the gray mare was galloping away like quicksilver in the rising sun.

Malon waited until horse and rider had vanished over the horizon before she turned to the tired gelding beside her. "All right boy," she said, running a hand down his wide blaze. "We've got work to do."


	3. Chapter 3

**Title:** Moment of Steel**  
Author:** Dodongo Dislike  
**Summary:** A lesson in love.**  
****Based on:** OOT, mostly. Pieces from other games were used as needed.  
**Authorial Complaint:** Dodongo Dislikes plot heavy chapters. I was tempted to post a three sentence summary and just truck on to the character interaction, but that would be cheating.

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**_Chapter Three_**

Zelda was puzzled.

So far, the wizard's attempts to elicit information about the Triforce had been uninventive and downright unimpressive. Oh, the exact nature of the torments were slightly different, but summary effect was no greater than any she had experienced before. If anything, Ganondorf and Agahnim had each been far more shocking and creative.

Or perhaps, she mused, she was growing harder to shock. Or possibly, she was just growing harder.

Zelda didn't know whether to be gladdened or saddened by latter.

Again, Impa's words from her childhood reached across time. _"You mustn't rely on steel. You must _be_ steel."_

Regardless, it had been almost easy to respond to this wizard in the manner required. When he'd broken her arm, she'd smirked. When he'd sliced her face open, she'd laughed directly into his. When he'd dropped the matches on her stomach, she'd asked if this was the limit of his imagination.

Afterwards, she'd kept herself conscious by trying to sift through what she had observed and apply what logic she could to understand him and the entire situation. The wizard very scrupulously kept to physical torture, not magical, as if he knew she'd use any acts of magic on his part to gauge his ability. But did that mean he didn't want her to know the limits of his power, or that he felt so sure of it that he didn't feel the need to demonstrate it. His demands for information, too, were less than inspired. So, then. He was either a lesser evil than she had experienced before or he was simply passing time.

Passing time for what, though? Waiting for the other Triforce bearer to arrive? If so, he was terribly informed. Singly, Wisdom and Courage might be vulnerable. Together, there had been no force in the universe that had been able to stop them. Yet.

_"First time for everything, Princess." _One of these days, Link was bound to be right about that. Zelda doubted that that day had come. She sensed evil power in this wizard, but not of the same level as Ganondorf's. And if Ganondorf had been unable to take them…well._ It's only a matter of time before we send you back to whatever Goddess-forsaken place you came from. Enjoy it while you have it._

As for herself, Zelda had decided that her own time had come. She was no fool—while the torture was nothing new, passively enduring it was neither enjoyable nor a path to survival. For all that she knew, the wizard would grow careless and accidentally kill her, and Zelda was long past any foolish notions of needlessly sacrificing her life. If nothing else, she couldn't leave her son to grow up the way she had—parentless and alone. She also had to be honest with herself; there was a limit to the amount of pain a body could tolerate. Despite her words to the wizard, despite her determination never to bend, she could not be certain what her limits were. Zelda intended never to find out.

She had the beginnings of plan, first inspired by the discovery that the iron spike through her hands was secured on both ends by a length of rope that also wound around her wrists. It had been excruciatingly painful, but she had been able to call the tiniest whisper of Din's fire for seconds at a time whenever she was alone, just enough to begin to fray the rope. When the time came, she would need her hands and magic free.

Noise in the hall again alerted her to visitors. _New ones, or more of the same?_ she wondered.

More of the same, it turned out, the same two guards that had taken her to her previous meeting with the wizard. Aeron's men, in Holodrum's colors, a large one and a slighter, younger one. She didn't remember them from Aeron's arrival, but at the time, she had been busy with plans other than how to escape from her own dungeon.

They said nothing to her, and she said nothing to them. Why bother, when were they nothing more than walking dead men?

_The bigger one will have to die first_, she reminder herself as they took up position by the door. _The smaller one won't require as much strength._

Each took hold of one of her arms, but made no move further.

It seemed she would be hosting the wizard today, she reflected as a larger shadow crept out of the darkness.

"Good afternoon, Your Grace."

"And to you, wizard." As if she was receiving him in the throne room. "To what favor do I owe your presence?"

"I have...an experiment, if you will. I understand Your Grace is fond of such things."

"You understand correctly. Bringing a culture of scientific inquiry to this kingdom has been one of my foremost goals." Though she doubted what he had in mind had any resemble with what was taught in the schools she had established. Then again, she reflect as he withdrew a jewel-hilted knife from his robes, what he had in mind might actually bear a little resemblance to the physician's school. "Is this experiment to be physical or magical in nature?"

"Magical, Your Grace." He held the knife closer for her inspection. "Originally, it was an ordinary Subrosian blade. I since re-forged it with some carefully chosen of spells. Think of it as a lancet to draw magical power out of the body of the one it touches and into the one who wields it."

"And that is your hypothesis?"

He regarded the black blade almost fondly. "My hypothesis is that it will work."

At last, she would have the opportunity to assess his ability. Arching a skeptical brow, she said mildly, "I think you underestimate the nature of my power."

Shadows shifted as he shrugged. "Perhaps," he said, and thrust the knife into her side.

Zelda had readied herself for the pain, but the blackness that crawled from the blade took her by surprise. It was as if the blade bled darkness into her, seeping through her skin and invading her blood, reaching out with black tendrils for her insides. Unwillingly, she cried out.

Instinctively, she reached for the power of the Triforce—all of the Triforce, not simply her piece. Before she could stop it, the power flooded into her, the corners of her soul filling with the brilliant light of Link's courage and also…

_Ganondorf._

If she and Link were inextricably bound by Wisdom and Courage, so too was Ganondorf bound to them by Power, and not even the separation of the Realms could silence the resonance.

Power raced up through her with the force of an inferno, shoving the blackness backwards, and she felt her lips part and a deeply evil, and intimately familiar voice snarled, **_"SHE'S MINE."_**

With a gasp, the wizard pulled the knife out of her, and through the golden haze of the dissipating power, Zelda could see his eyes go wide with shock as its blade turned to dust on contact with the air. _You got more than you bargained for, wizard._

Zelda seized the moment, the afterglow of the Triforce giving her voice strength. "Even if you succeed with me and the Hero of Time, there is a third you must best. If you kill me and take my Triforce, I swear with my dying breath, I will break the seal and set him free." A complete and utter lie, of course, but he wouldn't know that.

The wizard, quick to recover his composure, flung the useless hilt of the blade away from himself and said, simply, "I will return." As he swept out of the cell, he indicated for the larger guard to accompany him.

Left alone, the remaining guard and Zelda regarded each other a moment, she with calculation and he with no little fear. Abruptly, he released her. At the loss of his support, Zelda staggered back a couple of steps before collapsing to her knees. Vomiting was not part of the act, but as soon as the nausea welled up within her, she decided to succumb to it. It had the dual benefits of making her feel better and startling the guard into coming towards her.

As she heard him approach, Zelda tensed her muscles, shifting into a crouch, ready for him. She would have to be fast. She would have to be accurate.

"Are you all right?"

_What a ridiculous thing to ask_, she thought as she ripped her hands apart, left hand folding around the metal spike connecting them and lunged upward. The rope snapped cleanly, and the spike came free with a minimal resistance. Her momentum spun her around in an arc that ended with it embedded dead center in the guard's throat.

Time had become her enemy the instant she broke her bonds, and she could feel its sands sliding away as he took what seemed an impossibly long time to fall to the floor. He was still alive when she bent over him to see what useful items he possessed, but Zelda couldn't be bothered to care. There were scant minutes left in his life, anyway. She disregarded his sword as useless—in her condition, it would just weigh her down—in favor of the two knives on his belt. It took longer than she wanted to unbuckle his pouch of Deku Nuts, for her fingers would barely work. No time to dwell on that, though. There would be time enough to worry about regaining full use of her hands once she was free.

As Zelda gingerly exited the cell, she could hear him thrashing in what she assumed were death throes. There would be no cry for help, though, not with the spike embedded in his vocal chords. Her aim had been true.

There was a torch in the hall, but she did not bother trying to lower it from its sconce. Its light would attract unwanted eyes. Besides, she knew all too well where she was heading, and despite the urgency driving her heart beat, despite the pain that shortened her every step, she couldn't help a sigh of exasperation. Again, the sewers. _Farore give me strength._

Down the hall, up the half-flight of stairs, slip through the empty storage room, press the third rock on the right of the creche at the back. In the height of summer over ten years ago, she and Link had spent a gleeful week escaping from the oppressive heat in the dank darkness of the lower levels of the castle, searching for hidden entrances and exits. This exit had been among the ones they'd uncovered, though at the time, she had been unwilling to jump down into the noxious gunk a story below.

_"But how are we going to figure out where it goes?"_

_"If you want to go wading through the sewage, feel free to do so, Link."_

_"All alone in the dark?"_

_"You'll live. Just promise me one thing."_

_"Your Highness's wish is my command."_

_"When you get back, burn your clothes."_

He'd scoffed at that, but by the time he had returned from exploring, even he had been so disgusted with the stink that he couldn't disrobe fast enough. Watching him try to tear off his clothes and simultaneously set them on fire had been the highlight of Zelda's summer, though of course she had never admitted it.

So it was that she was smiling now as she jumped. She hit the floor at an awkward angle, unable to recover as the wound in her side throbbed with pain on impact, and dropped to her hands and knees in sewage. After a few steadying breaths, she pushed herself to her feet. She took a quick glance over her shoulder at the light drifting through the entry before turning to regard the darkness ahead of her. The entryway would remain open for anyone to notice, but she couldn't worry about it. Besides, anyone looking for her would almost certainly be able to follow the trail of blood she'd undoubtedly left.

Well, let them come for her down here. The sewers were a maze, familiar to her, but a puzzle to any pursuit. Even if they brought sufficient lantern light to see, the steady flow of water would carry away any traces of her route. With luck, they wouldn't hit upon her route until after she'd gotten out.

And once she'd gotten out?

_Deal with it then_. If the Hero of Time could defeat evil tyrants and demon lords with improvisation, then surely the Princess of Destiny ought to at least be able to drag herself somewhere reasonably safe in the same manner.

Slowly, determinedly, she started to walk.

What felt like hours later, she had barely made it only half the distance to the eventual exit into Hyrule Field. Though she had tried to steel herself against the pain, each step was becoming more difficult and the temptation to sit and rest even greater. Zelda willed herself to continue placing one foot in front of the other. Time was still her enemy. There was a wizard loose in her kingdom, her people had been enchanted, and she may very well have re-awakened Ganondorf. She could not afford to be re-taken.

Bracing herself against the damp walls, she continued until she reached the branch that would eventually lead towards the outer walls of the castle proper. She rounded the corner, then froze at a flicker of light in the distance. Darting back around the corner, she pressed against the wall and listened. Sure enough, there were quiet footsteps splashing lightly through the muck towards her. And then, silence. It seemed her luck had run out.

_They know I'm here._

Her hand clenched around the hilt of the knife, the grip almost literally glued to her palm with dried blood. She was too tired to defeat an opponent of any real strength with either physical or magical force. The best she could hope would be to force him to kill her.

Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and summoned her resolve.

_Be steel._

If she died here, so be it. She wouldn't be pleased about it, but it would be no great disaster. Hyrule's future and her irrelevance had begun the moment she'd given birth. The future was secure, regardless of whether or not she was in it. If she died, Hyrule would endure. Her only hope was that Noha would one day forgive her for it. Link almost certainly would not.

She stilled her breath and crouched as best she could, ready. Around the corner, she could sense the other do the same.

They must have jumped at the same time, for the next thing Zelda knew, she was ricocheting off of him and would have fallen back into the muck had he not grabbed her arm, spun her around, and trapped her against him. He disarmed her quickly, but it didn't matter, because the moment he grabbed her, she knew. She knew from the strong but gentle hand on her shoulder, from the shine of his smile in the lantern light, so radiant it burned her eyes to behold it.

"You're a mess, Princess."

_Trade places and we'll see how good you look_, she thought, and then all the light went out.


	4. Chapter 4

**Title:** Moment of Steel**  
Author:** Dodongo Dislike  
**Summary:** A lesson in love.**  
****Based on:** OOT, mostly. Pieces from other games were used as needed.  
**  
**

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_**Chapter Four**_

Link considered himself a rather honest fellow in most areas of his life. He wouldn't have gotten nearly so far or with the success he had enjoyed by weaving intricate webs of lies—it was just too damn hard to avoid getting yourself tangled up in them, and then where would he be? If nothing else, honesty was the easiest policy. Besides, there was rarely any plausible sounding explanation for most of the insanity that was his life. _"Sorry for walking into your house and smashing all of your pots, ma'am. It's not that I'm in search of valuable resources in a quest to save the kingdom from great evil; it's that I'm a kleptomaniac with a destructive streak._" Then again....

So when he told Princess Zelda she was a mess, he wasn't kidding. She looked downright terrible.

Granted, the small amount of light from the lantern's flame wasn't adequate for a thorough inspection, but it wasn't hard to see the blood since it was, well, everywhere. Face, arms, the remains of what once must have been a nice dress…enough to make his blood pressure and urge to kill rise. Plus, she was unconscious.

It was this last fact that helped him wall off his fury, trapping it like a Zora under the ice, until he had the luxury of dealing with it. They had to get out of here—and that would be much more easily accomplished if the Princess could walk on her own. He wanted both of his arms free in case of trouble, and she would be simultaneously mortified and annoyed to learn he'd carted her out of there like a giant bomb bag.

Still keeping her upright with one arm, Link dug through his trusty belt bag until he found a small vial. This is truly undignified, he thought as he popped the cork out of the top and poured the contents down her throat. But at least he would have something to tease her about once they had made it out, he reflected as he waited for the potion to take effect. Fortunately, it didn't take long.

"Overwhelmed by the sight of me?" he asked as her eyes fluttered open.

Zelda winced and brought a hand to her mouth. "Nayru's blessing, what was _that_?"

"One of Granny's latest creations." It wasn't as powerful as a red potion, but it was much easier to make, or so Granny had told him. "I haven't had a chance to try it yet—how was it?"

"Ugh."

"Eloquently put, Princess." Slowly, gently he withdrew his arm to let her stand on her own. She looked unsteady on her feet, but at least she was conscious. "Can you walk?"

Drawing in a breath, she closed her eyes and he almost see her checking off items in a mental status list. Ordinarily, he might have to worry about her pretending to be stronger than she was, but they both knew they were, once again, no longer in ordinary times. He needed her honesty, and he would get it. Releasing the breath, she opened her eyes again to meet his. "Yes. But not far."

"Good thing we don't have far to go." There was one last item of business before they could leave. "Malon waylaid me on the way in and gave me the basics. She said Impa has the Scrub." The Princess looked away. "Zelda?" When she looked back at him, he could see the fear in her eyes. It occurred to him then that this time was going to be very different from the ones before—this time, the princess's priorities might be very different. "Does she?"

"Yes."

_Impa's priorities, however, remain the same_, he reflected ruefully. "Anything else I should know?"

"Nothing that can't wait until we're out of here."

"Then let's go."

Picking up the lantern, he gestured for her to follow.

"I have to tell you something, Zelda," he said as they sloshed through the muck. "This isn't the homecoming I was expecting."

"You wanted a fanfare and trumpets?" Her voice was weak, but she was strong enough to recognize what he was doing and play along. And every bone and breath and drop of blood in his body loved her for it.

"No, I was thinking of something more intimate."

"Candles and a scented bath?"

"No, not that." A soft splash in the distance cut him off, and he froze, Zelda's fingers digging into his shoulder in warning. They remained still and silent until Link heard a soft squeak and a series of skittering splashes from the same location as the original sound. _Just a rat dropping from the ceiling_, he thought, releasing his breath. "I was thinking something more like you getting me liquored up and taking advantage of me again," he continued as they started moving again.

"'Again'?"

"Not that I'd mind, of course."

Her grip weakened slightly and she sighed against his shoulder before rallying, "Why you keep pretending—"

"'Pretend' nothing."

"—that I would do something like that—"

"All I know is one moment you're saying, 'Oh Link, just shut up and drink,' and the next moment, I'm waking up stark naked and feeling used."

"—is utterly beyond me."

"You ravished me, Princess."

"I don't recall you complaining about it at the time."

"Well, who would?"

They had reached the spot he had crawled in, and as he reached up to remove the grate, Zelda slumped against the wall and groaned. "I should have stayed in the dungeons."

"And miss this delightful romp?"

"This is equally annoying and much more smelly."

"Well," he said, as the grate gave way with minimal protest, "just another second and we can burn our clothes. I know you're a fan of that."

"Oh no. I may be riding away from my own castle yet again, but I am _not_ doing it naked."

Laughing, Link heaved himself up through the opening into the sunlight, and reached back for her hand. "Drawing a line?"

She raised an arm, instructing, "Take the wrist, not the palm." As he did so, she continued, "I need to retain a small portion of my dignity."

"Plus, the chafing. Ready?" At her nod, he helped her clamber up through the hole into the sunshine. At first, he was too preoccupied with replacing the grate to take much notice of the princess as she pushed herself to her feet. But when he finished and turned around, it took all of his courage not to gasp as sunlight revealed what had been hidden by the close darkness of the sewers.

She was a horror.

He'd seen the blood on her dress, and now he could see the causes: an obvious stab wound in the side. Her hands were such a mess that he couldn't begin to guess what had happened to them. There was a long gash running from the bottom of her right eye to her mouth, the wound a violently bright red against the pallor of her skin. But her eyes...her eyes were still the clear, cold blue, he knew so well, that captured him against his will and held him in place, quenching the burning need to run screaming back into the castle and rip the Holodrum prince into pieces. Her eyes were the source of his sanity, and he took a deep breath, drawing his strength from the steel that shone in them.

Zelda's voice snapped him out of his reverie. "So bad?"

Link forced himself to grin. "You are a mess." If she was his strength, he was hers. That was the way of things between them. "But I've seen worse."

"Shallow cuts bleed more."

"If you say so." Turning away before he could give away the rage and pain, he whistled the four note tune Malon taught to all of the horses she bred for him. Link almost found himself laughing as Siona trotted up, ears pinned and teeth bared.

"New horse?" Zelda asked from behind him.

"Evidently."

"Looks totally unimpressed with you."

"Like most of the women in my life. She'll fit in." Siona halted next to him, and he judged himself sufficiently composed to turn back to the princess and offer his hand. From the look of compassion in her eyes as she reached for him, it was evident that she was well aware of the storm of emotion roaring through him. Neither would speak of it, of course. There were too many lives on the line to indulge in personal melodrama. _The things we don't say,_ he reflected as he cupped her hand gently, _the parts we have to play._ "We'll want to avoid Kakariko if Impa's near there. How about the Valley?"

"The bridge is out. Can this new horse make the jump?"

"I have no idea, and now's not the time to find out." He thought for a moment. "We need medical talent and somewhere low profile to plot."

"I'm actually better than--"

"Don't even say it."

"It actually is true that shallow cuts--"

At that, the threads of Link's patience with, well, everything in his life, began to fray. "The only reason you're upright right now is because of the potion, which is temporary, and because you're so damned stubborn!"

He was right, and she knew it. Stubborn though she may be, the princess was not one to struggle long against the logical and obvious. Closing her eyes, she sighed and said, "Lake Hylia. The professor taught Granny, so there should be plenty of knowledge between he and his apprentices. There's also a wayfarer's cabin in the hills south of the lake that should be unoccupied."

"Lake Hylia it is, then." Pressing his lips against her knuckles in a brief kiss of thanks, he said, "Let's get going."

Siona ground her teeth and swished her tail in impatience as he mounted up, prompting Zelda to remark, "This one looks like she just loves you."

"Sarcasm is unattractive in a woman of your station, Princess." But speaking of horses, "Malon says there's an impromptu rebellion forming at the ranch."

"Against who, Aeron or me?"

Link chuckled as he helped her up into the saddle in front of him. "You know, she didn't specify."

With her back pressed against him, he felt rather than heard her sigh. "If they really want to run Hyrule, they're welcome to try."

"As if you'd know what to do with yourself without people to boss around." He took up the reins and asked again, "Ready?"

"To run away again? Always."

"That's the spirit, Princess." As he legged Siona into a gallop, Link wondered how he'd decide on the best way to kill the Holodrum prince. If nothing else, it would keep him busy until they were ready to fight back. That was, of course, assuming Zelda didn't beat him to it. And figuring out how to prevent _that_ would keep him busy, too. _Two full decades of this nonsense is really too much, _he reflected as Hyrule field rolled away beneath them.


	5. Chapter 5

**Title:** Moment of Steel**  
Author:** Dodongo Dislike  
**Summary:** A lesson in love.**  
****Based on:** OOT, mostly. Pieces from other games were used as needed.**  
Note:** I was going to use an OC POV here, but then I remembered that I just don't care about OCs in fanfic.

**

* * *

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_**Chapter Five**_

Waking up in a clean bed was vastly preferable to waking up on the dirty floor of a dungeon cell, though as life lessons went, that one was fairly self-evident. Even if it weren't, Zelda considered herself to have accrued sufficient experience to have learned the lesson well, so she was rather peeved that the Goddesses seemed to think it needed to be repeated. Nonetheless, here she was, waking up (again) post great escape (again) with the Hero of Time hovering over her (again).

Not that she minded the last part. There were far less pleasant sights to awaken to. Especially when he was smiling one of those smiles that made her feel like a silly little maiden girl, damn him.

"Good morning."

"Good morning," Zelda replied automatically, then looked out the window. Sunlight was pouring in, but since she had no idea in which direction the window faced, she couldn't confirm the time. "Is it morning?"

"It was a few hours ago." He leaned forward in the chair set next to the bed and said, "Before you can ask: one day, the lake professor's house, and with Impa."

"How marvelously succinct." She lifted a hand to rub at her eyes and nearly clobbered herself in the face with the thick glove of bandages wrapped around it. A quick glance confirmed the other hand was similarly encased. "This can't be good."

Link chuckled and captured one of her bandaged hands in both of his. "You're looking a little like Ricky, Princess."

"Compare me to a kangaroo again, and you'll learn how strong _my_ tornado punch is."

"Strong words for a woman I had to drag in here like a bomb bag."

Zelda winced. "How humiliating was it?"

"Oh, very. You were out cold and covered in blood in front of everyone."

"In front of...?"

"The professor and his apprentices. A Hylian girl and a Zora boy. Part of your cross-cultural education initiative."

Zelda sighed and dropped her gaze to the sheets. "I can imagine how impressed they must be by my wisdom and foresight now."

"What did I tell you about that sarcasm?" As the princess let out a little huff of annoyance, she heard him shift out of his chair to sit on the edge of the bed beside her. "Actually, I think you scared the hell out of them," he said as he wrapped his arms around her waist in a gentle embrace. "You scared the hell out of me, too, and I'm hard to scare."

She leaned back into him, marveling at his ability to make her smile no matter the circumstances. Kingdom overthrown, evil wizard running around, every part of her body throbbing with dull pain, and still Link could make her smile. "That's because you don't know any better."

"The goddesses didn't pick me to be the brains of this outfit, Princess. That's your job." Lips a breath away from her ear, he asked, "What happened?"

"The usual. Aeron of Holodrum seems to be in thrall to some malevolent wizard who has convinced him that I'm the evil one. For you see, I used my powers to murder his brother."

"To be fair, you are pretty cruel."

"I wouldn't laugh too much, Hero; you're a central figure in Aeron's little farce."

"Oh?"

"Oh, indeed. You're the reason I killed Darius off. Evidently, I'm too stupid to have a discrete affair...with someone who was lost at sea." It was absurd that she should feel more insulted by the slight to her intelligence than the implication that she had murdered her husband, but Zelda had slowly grown to realize that almost everything about her life was absurd.

"And what of the wizard?"

She sighed. "What of? He wants what they always want, though I doubt he'll be as much of a nuisance as most of the others. He's certainly nothing close to Ganondorf."

There was a slight tightening of his embrace, so subtle that someone who didn't know him as well as she would never notice. "Was he the one who did this to you?"

Turning her head to meet his gaze, Zelda saw the fury smoldering in his eyes, glowing like blue fire or light reflected off a blade. She needed that fury from him, but not now. Not until its target was at hand. So she kept her voice calm and cool as she responded, simply, "Yes."

"I'll kill him," he growled.

Maintaining her calm as she held his gaze, she said, "Not before I do, you won't."

"Fine, I'll kill somebody."

"_That_ we can arrange." When his lips quirked in what was almost a smile, she knew it was safe to continue on the subject of what, exactly, had happened to her. "I was able to gain some idea of his power and how we can counter it."

It did not take long to tell the tale of her time in the dungeon, though by the time she had, the shadows in the room had grown longer and the light outside the window redder with the approaching sunset. Clearly, more hours had passed since morning than Link had indicated. _We'll probably have to stay here again tonight_, she thought as she concluded, "Then I ran into you, and now here we are." She frowned. "Again."

_"_To be fair, the last time we did this, it was me who was lying there like a Gel."

"That's right, and you were muttering about another woman, as I recall."

Silly to think she could embarrass Link with that when she had never been able to embarrass him with anything else...anything other than the Wallmaster Incident, that was. Instead, he just retaliated with, "At least I wasn't pregnant with another man's child."

"That definitely would have been more disturbing." Zelda kept her tone light, though her heart clenched at the reference to Noha. It was odd, the rational side of her brain observed, this new fear. In all of the times before this, when Hyrule had been under siege and all within it had been in terrible danger, Zelda had feared for her kingdom, her people, and her hero. But never before had the fear been so primal, so eager to seize her at any moment, so able to distract her attention from the task at hand with such ease. Never so overwhelming.

She supposed she would just have to resign herself to its presence even if, as Link had reminded her earlier, Noha was with Impa. No one in Hyrule could keep him safer, but still. But still.

_My son_.

Drawing a deep breath, she tried to rally. "More disturbing on multiple levels."

His arms tightened around her again, this time in reassurance, as he played along. "I may be unique, but I'm not that unique."

"Some would argue you're already a little too unique."

Link laughed. "Would any of those people be in this bed right now?"

"I think the people in this bed are in the unique position of being able to appreciate the full extent of your uniqueness."

"And make use of it."

"Both in the past, present, and, evidently, near future."

Taking her chin in one hand, he tilted her face up towards his, so close she could feel his breath. "Are you sure you won't let me kill the wizard?" he murmured.

"Yes." As he raised his other hand to caress her cheek, Zelda closed her eyes and continued, "But you can have Aeron, if you like. If he hasn't truly been ensorcelled."

"Why don't we table this discussion until after we have them begging for mercy?"

"If you insist."

"I think I do," he said, and kissed her.

And that, of course, was when the floor flew open Ruto swept into the room.


	6. Chapter 6

**Title:** Moment of Steel**  
Author:** Dodongo Dislike  
**Summary:** A lesson in love.**  
****Based on:** OOT, mostly. Pieces from other games were used as needed.  
**Note:** Well...eventually.

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_**Chapter Six**_

Of all the many traits that the Hero of Time found both admirable and annoying in the Sage of Water, the one that stood out the most was her directness. So when she swept into the room, surveyed the scene, and announced, "This is intolerable!" Link was amused. And when she stormed over to the bed, grabbed Zelda's chin in her hands, and, upon a close inspection of the princess's face, declared, "Insupportable!" Link was annoyed. And when she spun around to point a finger directly in his face and demanded, "What are you going to do about it?" all he could do was hold up his hands helplessly.

"I offered to start slicing people up, but she won't let me."

Ruto sniffed and turned her baleful gaze on Zelda. "Please don't tell me you've gone soft. I'll be _so_ disappointed."

Zelda smiled, the first genuine smile Link had seen from her since this nonsense had begun. "It's not kindness, Ruto, it's good sense." Holding up her hands for Ruto to see the swath of bloody bandages wrapped around them, she continued, "If I left him run off now, who will help me tie my boot laces?"

Ruto rolled her eyes. "For this, she steals my beloved. Very well then." Shoving Link out of the way, the Zora princess plopped down on the bed beside the Hylian one. "Shall we discuss what we're going to do?"

"How much do you know?" Zelda asked.

"I know what Impa told me. The rest-" she gestured at Zelda. "The rest I can guess now that I see you. And him."

"And me," Link agreed, rising to his feet. "She stole me for more than one reason."

Zelda, however, would not be diverted by their teasing. "Impa told you? Through the Sacred Realm or..." she trailed off, hope burning feverishly in her eyes.

Concerned, Link stepped forward only to be waved back by the Water Sage. "In this realm, darling," she said, meeting Zelda's gaze directly. "The Zora are honored that she concerned our Domain a safe place for her charge. And my tadpoles are delighted to have a friend to play with." Her laughter splashed across the room, sparkling like the waters or Zora's Fountain. "They're teaching him to dive."

Exhaling a breath that he hadn't even realized he had been holding, Link said, "If the Scrub comes back with any silver scales..."

"Don't worry, darling. Royalty needn't bother with scales; we have a tunic already made for him." Turning back to Zelda, who in turn looked like she had at long last remembered how to breathe, Ruto said, "Now that we have the important information out of the way..."

"Have you heard from the other Sages?"

"Darunia, Rauru, and Saria, yes."

"And what is their opinion of the situation?"

The Water Sage sighed and shrugged. "As I said: it's insupportable. Though no one is entirely sure of where Aeron got his pet wizard...or where the wizard got him."

Zelda sighed. "I had wondered if Impa had guessed."

"Very little escapes the notice of our sister of Shadow." Wrapping an arm around Zelda's shoulders, Ruto continued, "She said she was suspicious of that little man all along."

"It would have been nice if she had said so."

"Shadows and secrets," Ruto smiled, "And never, ever wrong in hindsight. However, it was _I_ who correctly determined where you would be found."

Link couldn't help but chuckle at the sheer torrent of haughtiness in Ruto's tone. "You've always been a genius."

"Ah, flattery from the man who spurned my love. How pathetic. Yes," she continued, maintaining her pompous affect, "it was I who thought this place was most logical and swam through the tunnel from the Domain to contact you. And it will be I who will return with news of your plans and well-being." Taking one of Zelda's wrists and glowering at the bloody bandages, she added, "However poor it may be."

"I'll be fine, Ruto."

"Hmm." The Zora woman's purple eyes rolled towards Link's. "Will she?"

Again, Link found himself shrugging. He had not had a chance to quiz the professor adequately as to his princess's long term prognosis. "Probably." He had not dared leave her side. There had been so much blood... "She usually is."

"Hmm," Ruto said again, clearly skeptical. "It's a shame most of the fairy fountains have dried up. We could toss her in and be free of worry."

"Worry for me?" Zelda asked, "Or worry that Impa won't be pleased with your news?"

"The latter, of course. Only a fool or a Gerudo does not fear the Great Impa."

In other circumstances, the laugh the princesses exchanged would have been genuine. Under the current circumstances, it was marred with a hint of hysteria.

Link, however, was not tempted to laugh. If Ruto had been able to guess their location, then there was no reason why Aeron's men wouldn't, eventually. They had to leave. _Medical talent and low profile to plot. _And secure enough for her to recover in safety while the Hero of Time was taking care of business. But if the bridge to the Valley was out... "What about Nabooru? Have you heard from her?"

The women both started, as if they had forgotten he was even in the room. Ruto's mask of effusive geniality fell away, and her expression turned grave. "No," she said quietly, "And that troubles me."

"Why? Besides the obvious." Besides the obvious, indeed. Link could never bring himself to believe that the great lone wolf thief would ever fall to anyone. Nabooru had learned her lesson from Ganondorf all too well.

Ruto opened her mouth, seemed to think better of it, and closed it. After a long moment and a sigh, she finally said, "I realize that I'm setting the hook before the line has even been cast, but...I worry that there may be no help from the desert." Raising her hands to stave off Link's protest, she continued, "I know, I know. And I trust Nabooru. Don't forget that as a Sage, she is my sister. But I can't say that Nabooru is representative of all Gerudo. She may help. Her people may not."

"This isn't their fight," Zelda murmured.

"In the most basic sense, no, it's not."

"In the most basic sense, it's no one's fight except mine."

"If it's true that all Aeron wants is to depose you, then yes."

The conversation was beginning to drift far too close to Zelda's lingering guilt over Ganondorf for Link's comfort. "Forgive the hired muscle's stupidity, but I'm failing to see how an attempt to depose Zelda doesn't involve everyone in Hyrule."

Ruto's eyes met Link's. "Because a unified Hyrule subject to one monarch is a relatively new thing."

"So?"

"It's barely been a generation since the civil war," Zelda pointed out. "The races of Hyrule swore to my father, but those oaths were only a few years old when Ganondorf killed him"

To hell with her father. "They swore to _you_."

"Don't look so grumpy, darling, of course we did. But those bonds are still relatively new and untested. Of course we'll fight for Zelda; of course we'll fight for Hyrule. Even if we had no honor, the Zora would fight for their home and the monarch who has kept it safe. So will the Gorons. But the Gerudo?" Ruto shrugged. "I worry. And until Nabooru tells us she has her warriors ready, I will continue to worry."

Well, Link was worried, too, but not about the Gerudo. As an honorary member of the tribe, he had spent enough time in the sun-bleached reaches of the Valley to know how much the warriors admired the woman who had stood against Ganondorf, rebuilt a fractured kingdom, and suppressed both foreign and domestic interests in removing her in favor of a man. Even Zelda's part in Ganondorf's defeat had earned her no small measure of grudging respect. It was one thing to worship a man like a god; it was another entirely to challenge him. Or, as a warrior he had once known in a rather carnal sense had told him, _"She's not a complete weakling."_ High praise, considering the source. Years later, Link had told Zelda about that. _"Now pay attention so you can learn how to show her some respect...assuming you ever decide to be a real man,"_ the warrior had also said. Link hadn't told Zelda about _that._

Though, to be fair, he _had_ paid attention. And what the warrior had taught him had come in quite handy once he'd decided to man up.

But back to his original train of thought..."So now what?"

"Now we pool our resources and try to find out what manner of wizard we're dealing with," Zelda said. Seeing Link's exasperated expression, she raised a hand to stop him before he could argue, "I don't want anyone rushing into a fight with him until we know who and what he is. There's no reason to take foolish risks when it's likely he has an easily exploitable vulnerability."

"Leave that to us," Ruto said, rising to her feet. "The sages will learn what to do about this annoying little bari of a man. And when we do," she made a fist and smacked it against her palm, "our beloved will smite him!"

With these two women united against him, Link didn't stand a chance. He decided to accept defeat as gracefully as possible. "Yes, that's right; leave the smiting to me. In the meantime, do Zelda and I sit and practice the ocarina?" And where would they do this? "I'm assuming we'll head for Zora's Domain, too."

"No," Zelda said, just as Ruto said, "Of course."

"No," Zelda repeated, more forcefully, "We will not."

_Well, at least I'm not alone this time_, Link thought as Ruto's eyes rolled towards him, as if she were waiting for him to take his turn. It was so unlike her that he was momentarily thrown. "Why - " he started.

The world reverted to normal as Ruto decided not to let him finish. "Whyever not?" she demanded, before proceeding to count off her arguments on her fingers. "It's perfectly safe, we can all be in one place to plot, and, most important, Nohansen will have his mother back."

"And that is precisely why I will not go," Zelda retorted, eyes alight with determination. "A foreign power has led a coup against the ruling family; I will not have its only two members in the same place until the threat to our house is eliminated."

He ought to be taking this more seriously, Link realized, but the combination of Zelda's proclamation and Ruto's looked of outraged horror in response to the proclamation was just too much to ignore. "A redundancy system, huh?"

Now it was his turn to be the recipient of Ruto's outrage, "It's not funny, darling. He's a little boy who should be with his mother."

The little boy's mother was equally adamant. "He is a Prince of Hyrule, and that trumps all else."

This was a fight Ruto was not going to win. Link knew it, Zelda knew it, and even Ruto knew it. And, after another long, glowering moment, she gave in to it. "Fine!" she said, throwing her arms into the air. "You have to be stubborn, and I will have to accept it. But where exactly do you plan to go?"

"Where we'd planned to go originally," Zelda said, settling back into the pillows as if the brief clash of wills had never happened. "There's a wayfarer's cabin just south of here. You, Darunia, and Saria try to learn a little more about this wizard and blood magic. I'll review my memory for similar information, and we can discuss via the Sacred Realm." Here she paused, thought for a moment, then laughed softly. "Assuming the Sacred Realm is behaving itself."

Ruto laughed, too. "Rauru looked like a purple octorok when last I entered the Realm to speak with him. I hope it's just the Goddesses having a bit of fun at our expense." Sobering, she bent down to once again take Zelda's chin in her hand. "You are our leader, darling. We shall follow your orders until the end. Just let us settle this soon so we can both go back to lounging on our thrones."

"That was the essence of my plan," Zelda admitted, and that was the end of that.

Later, as they were watching Ruto dive into the silvery waters of Lake Hylia, her lithe body silhouetted against the setting sun, Link would reflect on the strength and spirit that ran through all of the Sages. They were, as always, rallying behind their kingdom and their monarch, but doing so without question and with high spirits. He couldn't imagine another group of people so willing to face adversity.

Then again, he couldn't think of another group with so much practice at it.

Beside him, Siona tossed her head in impatience. Perhaps, he thought as he ran a hand up and down the mare's neck to soothe her, this time the Sages would not have to stand alone. If Malon had in fact managed to corral members of the citizenry...well, that would be a first. In all the times before, it had just been the Sages standing between Hyrule and destruction.

And standing before the Sages was Link himself. And his princess.

He looked up at her where she was seated on Siona's back. She did not return his gaze, as she was staring intently into the distance, in the direction of the underwater tunnel that led to Zora's Domain. The golden light of the sunset masked the pallor of her complexion and the shadows beneath her eyes, though Link was well aware of both. He was also aware of how the clothes she wore hung off of her - partly due to lack of food during her confinement and partly due to the fact that they had been made for the more spectacularly curvaceous Malon.

Zelda's own gown had been ruined beyond repair - beyond even reuse as scraps of rag, covered as they had been in blood and other bodily fluids. Link had had one of the professor's apprentices burn them before the princess could see them. While Zelda was practical enough to accept that there was nothing regal or pretty about being bound and locked in a dungeon for days, she was still proud enough to be embarrassed by any physical reminder of it. Link saw no reason for her to feel even the faintest hint of humiliation about it. Not while her hero lived and breathed.

He was jolted out of his reverie by Zelda's voice. "I should have asked Ruto to send someone to Lon Lon."

"Lon Lon?"

She looked down at him, clearly amused at having caught him off guard. "To let them know that we are well and that they must be patient." She paused. "That is, if Malon truly has inspired a rebellion."

"I heard she once inspired a riot."

"That was just the Gossip Stones having fun with you, Link."

"How could a bunch of rocks invent the Great Milk Riot?"

"Someone used the Gossip Stones to have some fun with you, then." Laughter danced in her bright blue eyes, lifting Link's spirit, until she abruptly sobered and said, "If you want to-"

"I don't."

She sighed. "I just feel badly about you having to play nursemaid for the next few days."

"You said yourself, Princess, it would be stupid for me to go running off into the warm embrace of an unknown enemy. For one thing, I don't run very fast any more." Gesturing to the house behind them, he added, "And for another, do you really expect protection from an old man and two kids while you're crippled?"

Glancing down at her bandaged hands, which she had rested in her lap for lack of anything better to do with them, Zelda said, "If we're so old and crippled, Malon's rebellion may be our only hope."

Interpreting this as a sign that it was time to go, Link drew Siona's reins through his hands, preparing to lead her into the forest. "And may the goddesses have mercy on us all."

"Oh, I think they will." Zelda settled back into the saddle as the mare began to walk forward, exchanging a tired smile for Link's encouraging one. "They always seem to enjoy a good show."

Link snorted and turned his attention to the path before them. A few days, a few weeks...he was prepared to take as long as necessary to let Zelda and the Sages figure out how to deal with the wizard. The Hero of Time would be ready when they did. And if, in the meantime, the citizens of Hyrule rose up to create some helpful chaos, then so much the better.

_About time they got into the spirit of things._

He led the mare into the darkness of the woods, bemused by the emotion that had begun to take shape deep in his chest. It felt a lot like hope.


End file.
